Description

Givler's Crack is the prominent 250 foot hand crack on the front of Givler's Dome, surrounded by an obvious white wear streak. The Kramar guidebook calls it "one of the most popular routes" in the area.

It's an okay route, and a decent lead for a 5.7 leader, but it's a long way up there and the good climbing on this one is fairly short. I personally don't think it's worth the approach. There are a handful of other routes in the area, but if you're coming up to lead Givler's, you probably won't be leading them.

P1. Begin in an alcove near a tree. Some tricky moves off the ground lead to an obvious crack heading up and left. Belay on top of the horizontal flake. ~40 feet, 5.7+.

P2. Head straight up the hand crack above you. The initial climbing is fun and interesting 5.7 with good gear, but after 50 feet or so, the angle of the dome begins to fall off and the climbing gets easier and easier and less and less interesting.

To descend, walk off the back of the dome to the left.

Protection

The hike takes over half an hour. The route itself is very fun simply because the crack is consistent and there are lots of gear placements. The beginning is awkward and that's where the 5.7+ comes in. I thought it was harder than that but you can bypass the beginning by walking around to the right and up the ramp. We broke it up into three pitches so we could all lead. I led to the ramp, and then up to the top of the flake, and then up the crack about 3/4 of the way. My wife led the last part of the crack.

If you have a 70 and are willing to build an anchor about 10 feet from the top you can always do it in one pitch. I was having so much fun I just kept going and about 10 feet from the top I ran out of rope. If you bypass the 5.7 start by walking up the ramp to the right you can do the pitch in one long rope stretcher for sure.

Linked the climb from the true base (below the horizontal flake), to the top of the climb with a single 70M rope, and a full double rack plus some. The boulder over the top of the climb makes a good anchor (it is big, you will need a long cord or use your rope), as you wont have much gear left after 70 meters of climbing.

The beginning feels more like 5.8, but is a good challenge and you get a stance to get a solid piece or two in above you to keep you off the ground with a tight belay. I recommend giving it a try.

After traversing left to the base of the "blank" section, a person of about 6 feet can reach up and place a decent 0.4 or 0.5 in the crack above before stepping up, and then another one shortly after before gaining the crack.

From there it's all great jams and even though it looks steeper the climbing just gets easier the higher you go. The long stretch to the top is probably the part that a newer person should lead, as it is the most secure climbing and as well protected as you can get.